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CITY OF PHILADELPHIA
MAYOR'S OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS
For Immediate Release: March 3, 2016
Contact: Lauren Hitt, lauren.hitt@phila.gov, 215-686-6210
***EMBARGOED UNTIL DELIVERY***
Mayor Delivers Budget Address to City Council
PHILADELPHIA - Mayor Jim Kenney delivered his first budget address to City Council on Thursday morning. The Mayor began by outlining several budget priorities that resulted from collaboration between the Kenney Administration and City Councilmembers, including the citywide expansion of the Community Life Improvement Program (CLIP) and funding for Vision Zero initiatives. The Mayor then discussed his plan to expand quality pre-k, create 25 community schools, inject $26 million into the pension fund, improve City buildings' energy-efficiency, and invest $350 million in neighborhoods parks, recreation centers and libraries through a three cent sugary drink tax. Throughout the address, the Mayor spoke of the importance of investing in policies that would change the status quo and tackle the issues that have long held Philadelphia back, including its struggling education system. The text of the Mayor's speech follows.
*Remarks as prepared*
Thank you to the Council President and for all of my colleagues in Council for welcoming me to speak today
It feels really good to be home.
I've spent just about half of my life in this Chamber.
I started in 1992 under then-Council President Street, and I've since had the privilege to work with two more great Council Presidents: Anna Verna and, now, Council President Clarke.
I've also had the distinct pleasure, over the years, of getting to learn from all of you.
Through the work we've done together, you have helped shape me, and I believe you will see that impact reflected in our first budget together.
In this budget, we continue to try to protect the rights of our most vulnerable.
Councilman Greenlee has been a consistent advocate for the rights of Philadelphians, both through paid-sick-leave and battling wage theft.
I am proud that this budget proposes an additional position to assist with the enforcement of those laws.
Councilwoman Quinones-Sanchez has also been a critical partner in advancing the rights of our city's undocumented.
Over the next year, I look forward to working with her and the rest of City Council to develop a plan for a municipal ID.
Councilmembers O'Neill and Henon have also both gone to bat many times to get our firefighters the life-saving tools that they need.
This year, thanks in no small part to their efforts, I'm excited to announce that our six-year plan will provide over $80 million for the replacement of old, malfunctioning vehicles and desperately needed facility improvements, like roof replacements.
Our police officers will also be getting more resources to protect and serve the citizens of Philadelphia under this budget proposal.
In addition to repairing infrastructure in our Police District stations, this budget equips our police force with body-worn cameras.
As Councilman Jones pointed out passionately during hearings last year, body-worn cameras have been extremely successful in reducing use of force as well as police abuse allegations across the country.
I'm confident that the expansion of body-worn cameras in Philadelphia will further the admirable community policing efforts being led by Commissioner Ross.
This budget also increases community safety by dedicating resources to preventing traffic-related fatalities.
As Councilwoman Bass has consistently pointed out, it is unacceptable that we treat these deaths as a fact of life in Philadelphia.
Working with key stakeholders, our new Office of Complete Streets and the Managing Director's Office will identify changes we can make - whether it be better lining or signage or a change in traffic flow -- to protect the child walking to school and the cyclist just trying to get to work.
The Streets Department and L&I will also work to advance our vision zero goals by enhancing their 'Right of Way' activities.
The recent explosion of development has significantly increased sidewalk and street closures.
This budget would allow us to ensure safe travel around these closures, and to better enforce penalties against those that are illegal -- raising revenue for the City and preventing these dangerous encroachments in the first place.
This budget would also continue City Council's efforts to ensure that the 22nd and Market collapse can never happen again.
Today we're proposing funding for additional Code Enforcement Unit staff and for two additional L&I district offices.
These offices would be strategically located in areas of the city that are experiencing the most construction activity, so that we're increasing oversight of construction projects and allowing businesses to get permits more efficiently.
This budget also supports small businesses and commercial corridors by expanding the Community Life Improvement Program citywide.
As many of you already know, CLIP manages graffiti, vacant lot clean ups and other instances of blight that can make the difference between a community on the rise and one mired in crime.
This investment will specifically increase vacant lot and exterior property abatements by 5,000 over the next year.
CLIP also serves as a critical workforce development tool, allowing folks who have gone astray to pay back their debt to the community while gaining professional experience and skills.
Additionally, this investment would bring in $100,000 in new revenue for the City through the collection activities of CLIP employees.
As Councilmembers Parker and Squilla have been saying for a long time, CLIP has a pretty incredible return on investment for both the City and our neighborhoods.
Thanks to the efforts of Councilmen Henon and Taubenberger, this budget also supports our small businesses by establishing a line item for the Storefront Improvement Program - which will help fund 100 upgrades this year alone.
Research shows that façade improvements lead to additional foot traffic, increased revenue, and to the creation of new jobs.
But our commercial corridors almost lost this successful, long-standing program after a change in federal regulations.
While Councilmembers Henon successfully fought last year for a temporary funding measure, the City's commitment to our commercial corridors should never be in doubt - which is why we're so proud to introduce a stable funding source in this new budget.
In addition to growing local businesses, we will also continue to expand Philadelphia's international profile.
I thank Councilman Oh, in particular, for all of his work promoting Philadelphia globally.
We will soon be hiring a Director of International Investment who will build on the Councilman's efforts, increasing export activity and attracting new businesses to locate in Philadelphia.
The budget also proposes several measures in line with Councilmembers Squilla and Domb's focus on decreasing tax delinquency.
I'm proud to say that we already expect to collect $69 million in additional delinquent tax revenue over the next five years.
And to help address this problem further, we're proposing to increase the number of taxpayer service representatives, and to add technical programming to Revenue's IT system.
The budget also addresses systemic issues in the City's Mail Room, which, as Controller Butkovitz recently brought to light, have wasted taxpayer dollars and delayed critical communication to Philadelphians on everything from subpoenas to water bills.
While the backlog of mail has been eliminated, funding will be allocated to consult with industry experts and to hire additional staff, so this issue does not reoccur.
These programs are important but, by themselves, they don't change the status quo.
I've been listening to budget addresses in
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